WWE Stock Report: Baron Corbin just can’t cut it on the main roster

Some places do power rankings. Here at Cageside, we do a stock report.

In this weekly series, we identify three Superstars (or groups of Superstars) who are on their way up, and three that are moving in the opposite direction. After a busy week that included first round matches in the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments, a lot of fortunes were changed.

With that in mind, let’s see whose stock decreased the most this week:

Stock Down #3: Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin was a losing loser who loses when we last saw him on the WWE main roster in 2023. It’s important for him to rid that loser stench off his body now that he’s back, but that’s not what happened when he lost his return match on SmackDown against Carmelo Hayes. Maybe this is the beginning of a bigger story that WWE has in mind for Baron, but for now he comes off in kayfabe as a guy who just can’t cut it on the main roster.

Stock Down #2: Finn Balor

Balor’s elimination in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament continued this losing stretch that he’s been on going back to WrestleMania 40. Each time Balor loses, he inches closer towards becoming just another guy on the roster, instead of being a legitimate star.

Stock Down #1: AJ Styles & Naomi

Styles main evented Backlash in a match for the Undisputed WWE Championship, and Naomi challenged for the WWE Women’s Championship on the very same show. Less than one week later, they were both eliminated in the first round of a 16 person tournament.

Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week:

Stock Up #3: Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov had a hell of a match with Ricochet in the King of the Ring tournament and walked out as the winner. He has a tough challenge ahead with Jey Uso in the next round (and possibly GUNTHER after that), but there’s a scenario here where WWE uses the tourney to immediately establish Dragunov as a force to be reckoned with on Raw.

Stock Up #2: Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Cargill and Belair were entered into the Queen of the Ring tournament and look like the two favorites to win it all. It seems like WWE is using this tournament to create a vibe like when Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior crossed paths in the 1990 Royal Rumble match. People want to see Cargill and Belair fight each other in a high stakes match, and there’s a chance it might happen sooner rather than later.

Stock Up #1: Logan Paul

WWE needs to give Saudi Arabia a big main event for King and Queen of the Ring later this month, but regular Saudi main eventers Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar aren’t around right now, while previous ones like Undertaker and Goldberg are no longer active wrestlers. That’s where Logan Paul comes into the picture.

He may be a YouTube douchebag, but Paul is also the biggest star available to challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship in Saudi Arabia. Even if he ends up losing his United States championship in the process, the fact that WWE is putting him in this spot again (he main evented Crown Jewel 2022 against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in Saudi Arabia) shows how much they trust him to deliver at the highest level on an important show.

There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?